The Devil's Ambassadors in God's Domain

Scripture: II Peter 1:19-21

C.I.: Peter's Warning against False Teachers

The purpose for II Peter… - Last week …. – Today Peter is going to warn the church (us) of one of its greatest dangers…

•  The Corruption of the False Teachers, (II Peter 2)

A. Peter's Description of False Teachers, (vs. 1-3a)

1. ( v. 1 ) – “But false prophets arose among the people, - just as there will be false teachers among you, - who will secretly
introduce destructive heresies…” Heresy = “Selection,” Jews could select Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, Essenes, Zealots
a. “Destructive Heresies” - Destroy souls, ( I Tim. 4:1-3 ), “The Spirit explicitly… men who forbid marriage &
abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe & know the truth.”

b. Not just marriage & food, “..even denying the Master who bought them bringing swift destruction upon them…”
1) These had been faithful believers. – Notice, “…who bought [past tense] them….”
2) ( Acts 20:28b; I Cor. 6:20 ), “…the church of God which He bought…..”- “You have been bought….”

•  ( vs. 2-3a ), “And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words.”

a. “False words” = Greek “plastos” ( plastos), “Plastic words” – these can be twisted & shaped.
1) While these false teachers use God's vocabulary – they do not use God's dictionary.
2) They say, “salvation, inspiration, redemption, etc.” – but they do not mean what God means!

b. They abuse the definition of “grace” by bringing “sensuality” into the lives of the believers…
1) ( v. 10 ), “…who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires…”
2) ( v. 13 ), “They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime.”
3) ( v. 14 ), “…having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin.”
4) ( v. 18 ), “…they entice by fleshly desires. By sensuality, those who barely escape….”
5) The grace of our God is beautiful to behold – but these are abusing it, ( Rom. 6:1-2 )!

B. God's Judgment upon False Teachers, (vs. 3b-9)

1. ( v. 3b ) – “Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
a. Peter gives three examples of God's judgment upon the wicked & His saving those who resisted sin!
1) ( v. 4 ), “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to
pits of darkness, reserved for judgment .” = Heavenly beings condemned!
2) ( v. 5 ), “…and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with
seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly,” = World condemned!
3) ( v. 6 ), “…the cities of Sodom & Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them
an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter.” = Cities condemned.

b. Yet God will not condemn the righteous with the wicked – so long as they remain with Him!
1) ( vs. 7-8 ), “…and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men . . .
then God knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment
for the day of judgment.”
2) Sin must “oppress” us – lest we become desensitized to it!
3) ( Eph. 5:11; Rom. 1:31 ), “…do not participate in the unfruitful deeds…” – “although they know ….”

II. The Character and Conduct of False Teachers, (vs. 10-22) (Last week our character this week theirs! )

A. Symbols that Describe their Character

1. Symbols give us “pictures” of how God sees these people…
a. Beasts – ( v. 12 ), But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct….” 1) Like animals, these can't be reasoned with – choosing to live/teach as pleases them.
2) ( Acts 17:2 ), “According to his custom, Paul went and for 3 Sabbaths he reasoned w/them from script.”
b. Stains – ( v. 13 ), They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you.”
1) Like a stain on a garment – they mar the beauty for which the garment was created.
2) ( Eph. 5:27 ), “…that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot….”
c. Dried up springs – ( v. 17 ), “These are springs without water, mists driven by a storm.”
1) “springs & mists” are worthless. – They hold out a promise of benefit – but you get none!
2) False teachers promise a benefit to all who come to them – but the reality is not there!
3) CF. Jn. 4:10 , “Jesus said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and Him who said to you, “Give Me a
drink,” – you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.'”
d. Slaves – ( v. 19 ), “…promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is
overcome, by this he is enslaved.”
1) They do not see that what they consider to be freedom – is indeed what has ensnared them!
2) “Our purpose in life is not to find our freedom – but rather to choose our Master!”
3) Rom. 6:16 , “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves of obedience….”
e. Dogs & Hogs – ( v. 22 ), “It happens to them according to the true proverb, ‘A dog returns to its own vomit,' and
‘A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.'”
1) Whether talking about the “false teachers” or their victims (those who followed them) –
returned to the filth (i.e. sinful life) – after they had been cleansed!
2) The pig had been cleaned on the outside – the dog on the inside – but sadly, nothing changed!!

B. Sins that Describe their Conduct

1. Destructive heresies - These divide & destroy, ( Gal. 5:20-21 ), “…factions …those who practice such things…”
2. Spiritual Recklessness – ( v. 10 ), “Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties.”
a. These boldly believe their own press-clippings! – They believe themselves spiritually superior.
1) ( Jude 8-10 ), “... revile angelic majesties ... things which they do not understand.”
2) How sad it will be for those - who in this life - have demeaned God's angels!!!
3. Sexual Sin – ( v. 14a ), “…having eyes full of adultery and that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls.”
a. These use their authority to gain for their flesh what their hearts desire.
1) ( Matt. 5:28 ), “Everyone who shall look upon a woman for the purpose of lust has already….”
2) ( II Tim. 3:6 ), “For among them are those who enter into various households and captivate weak
women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses.”
4. Greed – ( vs. 14b-15 ), “…having a heart trained in greed. – forsaking the right way they have gone astray, having followed
the way of Balaam, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.”
a. God used a “talking donkey” to get Balaam's attention – what would it take to get ours'?!!
1) These all sound like a resume for a televangelists!

C. God warns us that false teachers pose a danger for all believers – beware!
a. ( vs. 20-21 ), “For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the
first. – It would have been better for them to not have known the way of righteousness, than to having known it, to
turn away from the holy commandment given to them.”
1) God doesn't have a “Plan B” – to save those who “turn away” – from “Plan A” – Gospel!
2) Are you in danger of returning to that former state? – Do you find yourself in that state???
3) ( Gal. 3:26-27 ), “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. – For all of you….”